A former Honolulu police major facing extortion charges for allegedly accepting bribes from an illegal gambling operation today pleaded guilty to two felonies in a separate case. 

Carlton Nishimura pleaded guilty in federal court to making false statements to the FBI. He apparently told the wife of a United Samoan Organization leader that members of the organization were under investigation by a federal task force. There’s a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return and failing to report at least $9,000 in income, which comes with a possible three year prison sentence and a $100,000 fine. 

This is at least the third time Nishimura’s gotten into trouble. Nine months after he was indicted by a federal grand jury on bribery allegations involving illegal gambling operations, the FBI caught him with crystal methamphetamine at his Waianae house and accused him of intending to distribute the drug. 

In exchange for today’s guilty pleas, charges in all the other cases will be dropped, according to Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

— Sara Lin